BLM Managed Lands at Castle Rocks CLOSED TO CLIMBING!! Castle Rocks State Park lands are OPEN TO CLIMBING MORE INFO >>>

The BLM has amended the Cassia Resource Management Plan (RMP) to permanently close the 400 acres of land it manages in the Castle Rocks Interagency Recreation Area to staging, traditional rock climbing, sport climbing and bouldering, as well as overnight camping and development of new trails.

The adjacent Castle Rocks State Park and the National Forest Service land to the north remains OPEN TO CLIMBING, as does the nearby City of Rocks National Reserve.

Arrest and/or hefty fines are likely if caught rock climbing with ropes and gear in the BLM land.

Please respect this closure to ensure access to the open climbing at Castle Rocks is not threatened.

Description

This arete route has a lot of enjoyable moves and a good position but is somewhat contrived in a couple spots. The start can be skipped by scrambling up some boulders to the right and stepping onto the route above the first bolt, and the crux (just below the roof/right-veering crack) can be by-passed by following the chalked holds left a few feet to the crack and then heading back up and right. Avoiding the crux makes the route around 10b.

Location

Far right corner of the North Wall, on the arete. Just around the arete corner is The Crack House.

Protection

I thought that the crux was below the first roof. It is a little section of slab with nothing but razor thin edges to hold onto. Fortunately, I am a little taller and was able to reach a good hold below the roof after finding a decent place to get some friction with my feet. Getting over each of the 2 roofs was very interesting and was probably the highlight for me since I don't do crimps or roofs very well.